September 26th, 2008
Two companies have been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a man was killed while operating a forklift truck at work.
Shane Neal, 34, was manouvering the vehicle on a Building Research Establishment (BRE) site in 2003 when it overturned and landed on top of him.
It was found that Mr Neal had not received sufficient training to allow him to operate the vehicle.
Welwood Roofing Services admitted to a breach of section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £50,000, plus costs of £25,000.
Meanwhile, BRE was fined £17,500 with £12,000 costs after pleading guilty to a breach of Regulation 9(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
HSE inspector Alison Ashworth said: "Mr Neal’s death could have been avoided had the companies involved carried out checks to confirm whether or not he knew of the dangers of forklift trucks and how to drive them safely."
No worker should be employed to operate a lift truck unless he or she has satisfactorily completed training and testing.
If an employee sustains injury while operating a forklift without training, then that employee may well have a valid claim for compensation against his or her employer.
Tags: Alison, Ashworth, Building Research Establishment, Forklift Training, Forklift Truck, Forklift Trucks, Health And Safety, Health And Safety At Work, Health And Safety At Work Act, Health And Safety At Work Act 1974, Health And Safety Executive, Hse, Provision And Use Of Work Equipment, Provision And Use Of Work Equipment Regulations, Provision And Use Of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, Quot, Roofing Services, Safety At Work, Section 3
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September 12th, 2008
North Tyneside council is to be prosecuted following an accident in which a pedestrian was killed.
Brian Kindred was hit by a refuse truck in May 2006 in Allanville, Camperdown and died from his injuries.
Health and Safety Executive inspector Stephen Britton said the safety measures in place were inadequate.
"There was no supervision in place, training was cursory and did not cover guiding vehicles in any way," he commented.
Mr Britton added that had the truck operator been trained to warn pedestrians if they were close to the vehicle, the accident may not have happened.
The council pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Pedestrians are one of the most at risk groups from being seriously injured if they are involved in a road traffic collision, which is why pedestrians must be given right of way by motorists.
A compensation claim can be made for injuries if it can be proven that the driver of the vehicle was responsible for the collision.
Tags: Britton, Camperdown, Compensation Claim, Health And Safety, Health And Safety At Work, Health And Safety At Work Act, Health And Safety At Work Act 1974, Health And Safety Executive, Motorists, North Tyneside Council, Pedestrian, Pedestrians, Risk Groups, Road Traffic, Safety At Work, Safety Measures, Section 3, Traffic Collision, Truck Accident, Truck Operator
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September 2nd, 2008
The families of two servicemen killed in Afghanistan are to sue the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in an unprecedented move against the military organisation.
Sergeant Ben Knight and Flight Lieutenant Steven Swarbuck were both killed when the Nimrod aircraft they were in exploded after refuelling in September 2006.
Coroners ruled that the aircraft was not airworthy and should never have been flown, after faults were detected in the fuel pipes prior to the accident.
The families of the two victims are now to sue the MoD for negligence, breach of statutory duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and breach of Article 2 of the European convention on human rights.
Commenting on the case, Graham Knight, Sergeant Knight’s father, said: "The government has stood up and said we are sorry. The coroner has said the aircraft was never airworthy, but nobody in the RAF or MoD has ever been held accountable for it."
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (also called the European Convention on Human Rights) was adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe in 1950 to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Tags: Auspices, Breach Of Statutory Duty, Coroner, Council Of Europe, European Convention On Human Rights, Flight Lieutenant, Fundamental Freedoms, Graham Knight, Health And Safety, Health And Safety At Work, Health And Safety At Work Act, Health And Safety At Work Act 1974, Military Organisation, Ministry Of Defence, Negligence, Nimrod Aircraft, Raf, Safety At Work, Sergeant, Unprecedented Move
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August 18th, 2008
A company has been issued a fine following an incident in which three of its employees sustained injuries while erecting scaffolding.
Pedley Scaffolding, which is headquartered in the West Midlands city of Wolverhampton, was ordered to pay £3,300 plus costs of £5,318 during a hearing at Stafford magistrates’ court earlier this month.
It had pleaded guilty to breaching sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
The accident occurred in June last year when scaffolding collapsed on to a road, causing the workers involved to fall approximately six metres to the ground.
One of the men broke his hip, while another fractured his skull and a third worker broke his elbow.
"Pedley Construction failed to provide a safe system of work and adequate training and supervision associated with the erection of scaffolding," stated Health and Safety Executive inspector Tariq Khan.
Tags: Elbow, Erection, Health And Safety, Health And Safety At Work, Health And Safety At Work Act, Health And Safety At Work Act 1974, Health And Safety Executive, Magistrates Court, Safety At Work, Scaffolding Collapse, Skull, Supervision, Tariq Khan, West Midlands, Wolverhampton
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August 13th, 2008
A company has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following an accident in June 2007.
An unnamed worker at Goodyear Dunlop in Birmingham was inspecting tyre casings when a pallet fell off a forklift truck passing by.
They fell onto the worker, fracturing two of his ribs, Abeceder reports.
Goodyear Dunlop pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was ordered to pay a fine of ?13,500 plus costs of £2,888.
The firm also had to pay ?4,000 to the injured worker.
HSE inspector Amarjit Kalay said: "The injuries inflicted could have been significantly worse, or even fatal. Operators of lift trucks must ensure that they operate them in accordance with training and employers must ensure that they are used safely."
All employers are obliged by law to ensure the safety of their employees under a duty of care.
They must provide a safe workplace, safe systems of work, safe equipment and safe fellow employees. The construction industry also has its own safety guidelines for specific circumstances.
Tags: Amarjit, Casings, Construction Industry, Duty Of Care, Fellow Employees, Forklift Truck, Goodyear, Goodyear Dunlop, Health And Safety, Health And Safety At Work, Health And Safety At Work Act, Health And Safety At Work Act 1974, Health And Safety Executive, Kalay, Pallet, Ribs, Safe Systems Of Work, Safety At Work, Safety Guidelines, Tyre
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